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Write about sport here. Write about music, travel, life and the universe elsewhere. Troll me on Twitter ---> twitter.com/KrisSwales.
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When I first travelled to New Delhi to watch Australia play cricket in 2013, just leaving my hotel to confront the onslaught of this…
As we hurtle headlong towards the business end of the NRL season, coaches at the arse-end of the ladder are no doubt jumping at…
There's the cityscape peaking over the SCG’s heritage-listed grandstands. There's the mountains looming over Cape Town and Dharamshala. And then there's Galle, the cricket…
Kevin Walters has plumped for a blend of experience and even more experience for his first game picking the Maroons team for State of…
When rugby league and music cross paths, hilarity often ensues. But the times, they are a-changin'. Not that it's been all smooth sailing the…
If the hot air being generated in the Sydney press post-Origin 2 is to be believed, the Blues simply need to turn up at…
Injuries, form, and the small matter of restoring state pride at a packed Lang Park have forced Mal Meninga to ring the Queensland Maroons…
June 2, 1987. A night I'll never forget. My first time... at a State of Origin game at Lang Park. I wasn't totally wet…
There's something about rugby league attempting to push beyond its traditional boundaries that causes the collective sphincter of Australian sports fans to involuntarily tighten.…
Mal Meninga may have all but copy/pasted his Queensland Maroons team line-up for Game 1 of the 2015 State of Origin series from last…
It’s an age-old paradox – what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? The two can’t exist together, and in the case…
It was somewhat ironic that on the day Australia collectively mourned the loss of the voice of summer, the voice of two states' winters…
While watching the Sea Eagles and Raiders run around an Australian Rules football field in far-flung Albury on Easter Saturday, the word atop the…
In case you missed it, the MCG earlier this week waved the white flag in its battle with Tullamarine Airport for the title of…
You know a sport's grip on the nation's collective consciousness is tenuous when it only makes the headlines off the back of bad news.…
International rugby league. The most divisive three-word phrase in the greatest game of all this side of ‘Phil Gould monologue'; a concept that inevitably…
My first memory of an English footballer is David Hobbs' elbow setting Greg Conescu's tooth free from its gum at the SCG in 1984.…
In case you missed it, the XXXX Queensland Bulls are now the my FootDr Queensland Bulls. Because the boys presumably spent so much of…
On Saturday night, black wrap still covered the fence surrounding Redfern Oval as a reminder of Michael Maguire's intense grand final preparation. By Monday…
When it comes to grand final day entertainment, both the NRL and the AFL either get it very wrong or very right. Sadly, the…
Top day out! And being the only Aussie fan in the entire eastern stand, with my first name on the back of my jersey (thanks for that one, Mrs Swales!), I enjoyed minor celebrity status for the day. How actual famous people deal with it is beyond me…
Aussies salute in India, perfectly timing World Cup charge
Think you’ve nailed it, James. Finch is a lock for the C so Smith/Warner have to be fit in around him.
I see Starc/Richardson/Lyon rotating through two spots in the starting XI, pending conditions. Has been slightly overlooked in all the excitement that the GOAT/Zamps partnership had the edge on Jadeja and Kuldeep last night, and with the quicks essentially cancelling each other out that ultimately proved the difference.
Aussies salute in India, perfectly timing World Cup charge
“Facing India away is one of world cricket’s toughest tasks, and in front of frenzied crowds Kohli’s side sense blood better than most.”
That the Aussies took the Delhi crowd – a feral, unwieldy beast, albeit friendlier than your average local traffic jam – out of the game for large swathes of yesterday’s match was admirable. When the beast awoke during the Bhuvi/Kedar partnership I started to fear the worst, but Cummins/Richardson held their nerve and iced it with style.
On a personal note, after witnessing 7 losses in India/SL it was great to be in the stands when we actually jagged one – and a series win to boot! Might have to tap out while I’m on top, or at least until the 2021 Test series…
Aussies salute in India, perfectly timing World Cup charge
Really like the balance of the 11 that lined up tonight. Surely Smith and Warner have to blitz the IPL to squeeze their way back into it after the way this unit has pulled together and scrapped a series win from the brink of oblivion.
Australia stun India with 3-2 series win
After losing 8 of their first 10 games by 6 points or less, Ricky Stuart sacks himself as Raiders coach but straps the boots back on to play a Cooper Cronk 2018 GF type role alongside Jack Wighton.
The Raiders continue losing games, but Stuart ends the season with the most kicking metres in the NRL.
Five fearless predictions for the 2019 NRL season
Whatever the end result of all this politicking, I think we can all agree that Daley taking down Alan Jones on his own radio show this week has made it worthwhile.
Football is the biggest loser from Sydney's stadium debacle
Agreed, have always thought Cadee was a good 6th man at best. Actually prefer Gibbo in the starting role, much more level-headed and offers more to the team than points if he’s not on the boil.
The Bullets and Kings just weren't up to NBL championship standard
Bullets season unfortunately fizzled out exactly as I predicted, but I think this is a season where making the playoffs was enough. Hopefully Lemanis can pull a more well-rounded team game out of his hat for next season, particularly if Lamar doesn’t return – and especially if he does, given how one-dimensional we looked in the clutch,
The Bullets and Kings just weren't up to NBL championship standard
Wish I shared your optimism Chris but I feel the Bullets rely too much on individual brilliance to give this a real shake. That said, if two or more of Lamar, Bairstow, Gliddon and Te Rangi (who’d have put him as a danger man when the season started!) catch fire two games running we’re half a chance.
Either way, just great to have my team back in there! And the Kings-United series could be something special.
Genuine four-team race for NBL championship
A Nine reporter writes in a now Nine-owned paper that ratings are down without noting that it’s in line with a general dip in FTA and there was no Fox, Kayo or Watch NRL app (which I watched on from OS) simulcast of the same game two years ago.
I notice the tag saying he’s a Nine reporter is now removed from his column with SMH under the Nine umbrella. Who needs transparency when you’ve got watered-down media diversity laws!
Would be interesting to see streaming figures from the trials on the weekend. The production was variable in quality from game to game but the NRL are clearly readying for a post-FTA future.
The NRL has enough problems without media-manufactured crises
Thanks Anidya! I could probably do Finchy and the boys a favour by staying at home, but who would the local fans heckle in the stands? It’s my civic duty to take one for the team. Plus the match falls in Delhi’s six weeks of pre-summer pleasantness so you’ve got to make the most of it while it lasts.
How I learned to love watching Australia lose in India
Haha well we’re 2-0 in trials so that must make us early premiership favourites! Very pessimistic about our chances, especially after how many points we’ve leaked against the Eels and Dogs full-strength teams so far. But the Raiders always perform best when expectations are lowest so I live in hope. Fortunately I’ve got the perennially awful Delhi Daredevils and Dynamos to frustrate me in the flesh until I get back to Bruce.
How I learned to love watching Australia lose in India
And not before time – how India’s mobile phone heavyweights have stayed solvent without dropping a commercial between every over bowled in anger is beyond me. Almost as excited to learn about the newest triple-selfie phone release as I am to see the matching trophy!
Australia and India to end marathon, 37-day break between fixtures
This move enthuses me. The Raiders are usually either pitied or admired by rival fans, so some lessons in being unlikeable merkins from the master can’t go astray.
Michael Ennis will make the Green Machine mean and clever
The ad was great fun – if you didn’t at least get a chuckle out of the Cooper Cringle line, you’re not alive.
Good on them for trying something different. Probably a lot safer than anointing a ‘face of the ‘game’ given how quickly the criminal charges have piled up over the summer as well.
Why the NRL hurting the feelings of Americans and Brits with those billboards is okay
Watching the steady decline of the Roar/Den from afar has been pretty sad – almost a relief the A-League is no longer screening here in India.
I’d never been to a soccer match until the A-League started. I loved the vibe at the northern end – always sat just on the fringes of the Den so I could join in when inspired without feeling obliged. Even when the Roar couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net (Reinaldo, Van Dijk era), they were at least fun to watch with Kruse/Zullo/Oar storming down the flanks and the Den riding every frustrating miss.
Some of the chants/behaviour bordered on antisocial, but the positives far outweighed the few negatives. Hopefully all involved now can get over themselves and the team can turn in some performances to encourage the fairweathers back.
Active support works best when it actually involves support
Players well into their 20s being referred to as ‘kids’ by coaches and commentators doesn’t help.
‘He’s a good kid’ – actually, if he’s old enough to play NRL he’s an adult man and should be dealt with like one.
NRL players are adults - let's start treating them like it
8: Cummins, Lyon
7: Harris
6: Payne
5: Head, Hazlewood
4: Starc, Labuschagne
3: Khawaja
2: S Marsh
1: Finch
0: M Marsh
Border-Gavaskar Test series player ratings: Australia
Such a shame Herath retired before the SL series in Jan. A month of facing off against Clive Rose’s hair would have our bats primed to end his career.
Failing Test batsmen ordered back to Big Bash to "spend solid time in the middle"
The Bullets not being absolutely awful is a most pleasing development.
Bullets make a double statement in the NBL
Prithvi Shaw is a big loss for the Indians and the series as a whole. So much fun to watch him merrily swing away without a care in the world and connect more often than not.
Pant is good for at least one Gilchrist-esque game-changing innings.
Otherwise it really does come down to Kohli. Hopefully we get some sporting wickets cos he’ll carve up on anything remotely road-like.
It's Kohli or bust for India
Was on tour in Melbourne with my band at the time, and watched the first innings carnage unfold with our local brother band downstairs at the Prince of Wales. The joint was jumping.
Went to bed at the innings break to rest up for our gig the next day and woke up seedy as hell with a voicemail message from their drummer.
“We lost! Dude, we lost!”
How I missed the most remarkable ODI ever seen
Been on this bandwagon since 2013 Ryan! The more things change, etc etc – https://www.theroar.com.au/2013/11/20/should-sports-writers-be-cheerleaders-or-critics/
I think Fox League’s scattershot approach to seeding their programs with Crisis Merchants is really selling Phil short.
Why not give the man the solo vehicle he so richly deserves, stumbling and bumbling his way through an hour of vitriol straight down the lens Monday through Friday from around 9:30pm, the bottom of the screen rotating through the 6 tweets of support he’d received in the preceding 24 hours.
The Buzz Report. A veritable ratings bonanza, just like its Sky News counterpart – https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jul/20/skys-the-limit-when-it-comes-to-rocketing-audience-numbers
2018: The year rugby league turned on Buzz Rothfield
Fortunately I only witnessed two of these capitulations in person but every one of them is etched in my memory.
Speaking of medicine, a mate reckons you’d have to be on valium watching Raiders games as a fan. I reckon morphine would be more appropriate.
We need to talk about Ricky
Geez, the Dogs were atrocious – surely something outside of the back-ended contracts debacle has impacted recruitment/retention there?
While trying to distract myself from tearing my SuperCoach squad apart for the 147th time before the Storm-Broncos game, I put together this 17 of blokes named in jerseys 18-21 who would give the Dogs a decent shake…
1. Ben Hampton
2. Gideon Gela-Mosby
3. Gerard Beale
4. Enari Tuala
5. Anthony Don
6. Jake Clifford
7. Sam Williams
8. Herman Ese’ese
9. Mitch Rein
10. Matt Eisenhuth
11. Keegan Hipgrave
12. Chris McQueen
13. Shaun Fensom
14. Karl Lawton
15. Josh King
16. Kyle Turner
17. Lloyd Perrett
Five massive overreactions and scorching hot takes after Round 1 of the NRL